One of the joys of mobility is to be no longer tied to cables. However, the default access to a Nokia 770 from a (windows) desktop is limited to USB cable access to the external memory card, the internal memory not being visible via USB. Nor is there any (default) bluetooth access available to access any internal or external memory files on a Nokia 770 from a desktop. Moreover, USB cable access is made even more cumbersome by making external memory access on the Nokia 770 unavailable while connected.

Let’s look at the example of taking a screenshot with the memory applet and copying the screenshot image to your desktop in order to upload it to your web-site or blog:

- copy screenshot to the external memory card via the Nokia 770 file manager
- connect USB cable
- transfer image from memory card to desktop via desktop file manager
- disconnect USB cable
- delete image from Nokia 770 memory card (you don’t want it to hang around on your memory card)

Ok, some may remark that you could upload the image directly from your Nokia 770. However, often the image has to be manipulated (cropping, resizing,…) which can only be done on a desktop.

So, we are looking at a 5 step process, including connecting and disconnecting the USB cable. Not particularly user-friendly.

Is there an alternative?

Let’s look at the the connected smartphone which is faithfully mapped as a directory in the Nokia 770 file manager. It’s always available as I do assume one always has the phone in the vicinity, either at home or away from home.
So, why not use it as an intermediary storage for wireless file swapping between the Nokia 770 and the desktop?

Let’s go back to the screenshot example and see how this would work:

- copy the screenshot image to the smartphone memory using the Nokia 770 file manager

- move image from smartphone to desktop via PC suite file manager

So, a very simple,transparent 2 step process without any fiddling with cables, a clear improvement over the USB solution. Moreover, the next range of series 60 devices such as the Nokia N80 will feature UPnP technology allowing users to transfer files via USB 2.0 by simply dragging and dropping from a compatible PC onto the device (no longer need to launch PC suite).

Of course, everything would have been easier if the Nokia 770 would have allowed simple file transfer via bluetooth. I’m still puzzled about the absence of this feature (as stated in a previous post there is a third party application to send/receive bluetooth files but this does not work very well and this utility has recently misteriously disappeared from the maemo application page).

The above does not render the USB cable obsolete. Transfering any bulk amount of multimedia files (music, images, movies) to the Nokia 770 should still be done via the USB cable as this is much faster than bluetooth. The outlined process really only applies to single file ad hoc transfers.

The documentation/help function of many software applications/utilities/developer tools comes in the form of .chm compiled HTML files, often as a hierarchy of .chm files (also used for easy publishing on the web).chm based help has built-in contents/index/search facilities and is very easy to use, also in standalone mode(decoupled from the application): just open the root .chm file in your favourite web browser.

It seemed to me that this would be one more use case for the Nokia 770: reading through the documentation of some recently installed software in some comfortable position (I am particularly interested in the full Symbian SDK documentation set).However, it turns out the Nokia 770 browser does NOT understand .chm!It’s another example of the reduced feature set mobile browsers tend to have: choices have to be made and the more exotic features are often left out in order not to compromise performance (program size, memory requirements,…). However, I feel that the Nokia 770 should integrate this feature if it wants to sustain the claim of full web browsing.
Fortunately there is a workaround in the form of a conversion utility decompiling .chm files into a set of html files : chm2web (traditionally used for PDAs).

This utility does not come cheap, especially the PRO version which you need to convert hierachies of chm files. The conversion is very straightforward but can take a long time (up to one hour). You then simply store the HTML files somewhere on the Nokia 770 and define a bookmark pointing to the root .html file allowing easy access to the documentation/help system.

A lot has been written on the issues,problems, limitations, improvement suggestions regarding the Nokia 770. Looking at the multitude of reviews, comments, blogs and sites on the Nokia 770 and the dispersion of information, I started collecting all needed improvements in one easy to consult overview - similar to what I did in the post Hints and tips for the Nokia 770, systematically updated on this page. I think these 2 kinds of commentary are the very reason of existence of the 770 blogging phenomenon: helping users to get the most out of their (expensive) mobile device and providing feedback to the manufacturer to ensure the best possible successor for the Nokia 770 is produced (we will make sure Nokia is well informed, my feeling is there willl be a hardware upgrade in the second half of next year). Also it is important to educate users on the inherent limitations of mobile devices, and make sure their expectations are balanced.

Here we go:

1. General performance

1.1 CPU of Nokia 770 is underpowered

Device is powered by a 250 MHz ARM based Texas Instruments 1710 OMAP processor which is the bare minimum for a device like this, resulting in sluggish behaviour.

Recommendation: CPU speed minimum 500 MHz

1.2 Insufficient internal memory

Similarly the 64MB of DDR RAM available for applications, and the 128MB of internal FLASH storage for internal programs and user data are clearly underdimensioned.

My feeling is the low memory is the biggest constraint (Nokia has a bit of a bad reputation as to the absolute minimum amount of memory they put in devices : Symbian smartphones used to only have a couple of Mbyte, now finally upgraded to more than 40 Mbyte in the latest devices).

Both the limited CPU speed and the insufficient memory have important consequences on the number of browser windows and applications that can be open at the same time without the device becoming sluggish or freezing altogether ( “insufficient memory ” messages are displayed and the device becomes inoperable). Apparently the browser leaves processes open and finally the 770 becomes unresponsive. These processes can be killed via xterm, but this is rather for advanced users.Similarly it limits the size of PDF files which can be comfortably read and the resolution and number of frames per second of video playback.

This is illustrated by the CPU/Mem load applet, of which both indicators often jump to the maximum level as soon as any activity takes place. The developer also promised to add a feature allowing to kill processes.

Recommendation: internal memory minimum 256 MByte

2. Hardware and design

2.1 Badly designed scroll key (joystick)

The left arrow key being squeezed in between the cover and the central button, making it almost impossible to push it down. Also the central button gets in the way of the arrow keys , ending up inadvertently being pushed. Finally the whole scroll key is sunk to deeply into the device, leaving not enough “leeway” to push the arrows down. It should stick out a few millimeter from the device level.

Recommendation: shift scroll key to the right, raise above device level

2.2 Cover blocks stylus space

The stylus just can’t be reached to take it out of the device as it is half covered by the casing. So the device has to be slightly slided out of the casing in order to take out the stylus, which is a small inconvenience. One can of course look at this in a different way: the casing prevents the stylus from falling out and getting lost.

Recommendation: opening made in one corner of the casing allowing access to the stylus when the display is exposed and safely locking away the stylus when the casing covers the display.

2.3 Lack of a scroll wheel

Scroll wheel remains the easiest way to scroll the webpages and documents.

3. General functionality

3.1 No advanced customisation of homepage

It would be interesting to be able to customise the home page much more. In particular it would be nice to be able to display more than one web shortcut, or to have shortcuts to applications,… The image for the web shortcut can be replaced, but can not be moved or made bigger or smaller. More customisation would make the experience more desktop like.

3.2 No autostart for web-connection or applications

3.3 Double-tap/single-tap inconsistency

In general double tap is used consisting of first tap to select and a second tap to activate e.g. opening but this is not applied in all applications.

3.4 Absence of a built-in IM client, although a port of Gaim is available

4. Screen

4.1 Screen artefacts

Touch-sensitivity layer adds some kind of polarisation or moire pattern over the screen — when tilting the screen a pattern of rainbow-colours appear, mainly in white areas

5. Web browser

5.1 Complex sites may block/freeze the device(rare)
5.2 In zoom mode e.g. at 150% sometimes spaces between words disappear.
5.3 Opera browser seems to cause a few problems.
5.4 Only Flash 6 supported, many sites require flash 7 or 8
5.5 More advanced features such as Ajax extensions are not supported
5.6 Sometimes graphics are not displayed apparently because Opera doesn’t use HTTP_REFERER header in HTTP requests.

Recommendation: replace by open source browser planned for Symbian smartphones.

6. E-mail

6.1 No multiple accounts.

All accounts are dumped into the same folder.It would be nice to seperate them, especially if different people use the device.

6.2 No filter settings to send incoming mails to specific folders

6.3 E-mail client is incomplete for IMAP users (no folder downloading and no separation of accounts)

7. News reader

7.1 Not very sophisticated,very limited customisation options

7.2 Items don’t always disappear immediately after having been read

7.3 Auto-refresh does not automatically start web-connection

7.4 Manual refresh often fails

8. Image viewer

8.1 Rendering of high resolution pictures is flawed

High resolution pictures show ‘jagged edges’ along straight lines, and there is also a strange overlay pattern on white areas. Related to “conversion” effects when the device transforms say a 2000 x 1500 picture file to display on a 800 x 480 screen producing some kind of aliasing effect. This is a tradeoff for speed, a better resampling method would solve the issue but opening images would be slower.“Native resolution” pictures (taken at 800 x 480) are rendered perfectly.

9.Audio player

9.1 Ogg vorbis format not supported. Third party player available.

9.2 Audio files on series 60 smartphone cannot be streamed to Nokia 770 and listened to in “situ” from the smartphone, without transfering them

9.3 No support for windows audio format

10.Video player

10.1 No support for wmv

Consider supporting wmv as it is still the most important format, similar to the announced support of windows audio in Nokia N91.

10.2 The supported video formats seem to be subject to quite a few restrictions which are not clearly stated

Files converted to avi,real video or mpeg do not always play on 770. There are a lot of parameters to be specify during conversion (bit rate, compression, ..) and it is not clear which of these are supported by 770 (user manual does indeed mention “the video does not necessarily support all the variations of a file format”).Indeed, apparently only specific codecs and frame rates are allowed. So there is clear need for either more specific information on the supported format or even better, a conversion application specifically written for the 770.

11.PDF reader

11.1 PDF reader frequently freezes for file sizes of more than 100 kbyte. Obvious lack of internal memory.

12. File manager

12.1 The built-in “File Manager” application does not allow to get access to all the files on your Nokia 770

File manager only shows files in your /home/user/MyDocs directory, your RS-MMC card and on bluetooth paired devices . See Hints and tips for the Nokia 770 for workarounds.

13.Text input and editing

Virtual keyboard

13.1 Numeric keypad is upside down compared to desktop

13.2 Sometimes virtual keyboard sticks to upper case

13.3 Colon sign only accessible in shift mode

Character recognition

13.4 Character recognition is not really usable

14. Connectivity

Bluetooth

14.1 By default, the Nokia 770 is not ‘discoverable’ and ‘connectable’ via bluetooth (other bluetooth devices cannot initiate connection and send files via BT),apparently for security reasons

14.2 It is not possible, by default, to send (and receive) files from the Nokia 770 to other bluetooth enabled devices (except for the registered phone device)

For a solution to issues 14.1 and 14.2 via third party applications (xfer and sobexsrv) see Nokia 770 and connectivity

14.3 No wireless headset profile available, wireless headsets cannot be used, no solution available.

Only supported Bluetooth profiles are File Transfer, Dial-up Networking, Generic Access, Serial Port and SIM Access (Bluetooth Specification 1.2)

WLAN

14.4 No Wi-Fi/WLAN connectivity possible beween 770 and computer in order to mutually browse each others files

14.5 Problem to connect to certain ADSL access points e.g. connection to Netgear router only when within a distance of 2 feet

14.6 Autoconnect: has to fail before being able to select non default access point

14.7 Failing connection to WPA-PSK access point

Cellular connectivity

14.7 Not possible to connect to certain phones e.g. Motorola V551/V557 displaying message “could not complete service discovery”

14.8 Unclear process how to connect to the internet via the cellular connection of a Bluetooth phone

Set-up hidden under tools menu of control panel.

15. Third party software

Still very limited, but I’m not worried : this is an open platform!
15.1 Viewer for Microsoft Office suite (Powerpoint, Excel) cf. QuickOffice for Symbian
15.2 Spreadsheet (Gnumeric soon available)
15.3 Grahics /drawing program,needed to publish from Nokia 770(GIMP being announced)
15.4 Podcast client
15.5 Watch satellite TV via WLAN
15.6 Dictionaries
15.7 Map viewing utility including maps
15.8 More sophisticated image viewer/editor
15.8 Pop-up news reader
15.9 GPS solution
15.10 DVD conversion utility optimised for 770
15.11 Printing utility

Overall conclusion.

Before analysing further let’s list the 5 most urgently to be fixed issues, in order of importance:

1. Internal memory
2. CPU speed
3. Opera web browser
4. Handwriting recognition
5. Scroll key and scroll wheel

Most other issues belong to the fine tuning category (user interface, functionality, settings, options) and will almost certainly be fixed in the next hardware or even in one of the software releases.

So, the homework for handwriting recognition needs to be redone. Upgrading the processor and memory also seems unavoidable in the next hardware release, or will Nokia bring a second more powerful version to the market next to the Nokia 770 as someone suggested. The most intriguing issue may well be the future of the Opera browser. Will it be replaced by Nokia’s in-house developed open source browser already announced for the next series of Symbian smartphones, will an updated version of the Opera browser appear, or are there other alternatives from the Linux world ?

Coming back to the overall appreciation of this device we need to take 6 very important factors into account:

1. The Nokia 770 is the first device in a completely new category, with a new operating system and development platform
2. The Nokia 770 is a mobile, portable device and this mobility brings severe contraints in terms of power, size, memory,…(compared to desktop computers)
3. It features very high specs with the 800 x 480 screen resolution as the most ambitous display in the mobile industry, almost matching display resolutions of desktop computers.
4. The device is made available at a very competitive price
5. Some functionality is lacking due to security reasons e.g. bluetooth discovery, file manager,…
6. Positioning of the device (lack of phone function and lack of PIM-suite are not considered as issues or things to improve)

Taking the above into account, my opinion is that the Nokia 770 - as a first device in its category - has reached a high standard indeed, considering price, innovation level and specs.The most important functions work well. The rest will improve with firmware upgrades. It took Symbian 5 years and more than 40 models to reach the current performance and quality of their smartphones (My next smartphone: Nokia N80). Also, one can simply not expect the same performance as a desktop or a laptop: driving a high resolution screen comparable with that of a desktop with a fraction of the hardware capacity and power of desktop. Hence, inevitably, there are compromises to be made: forget about full multitasking with 10 open windows, forget about 30 fps video at maximum resolution, forget 10 Megabyte PDFs. Enjoy the screen but with one open application at a time.

So, we can classify the things to improve in 2 categories:

- small functional/software related flaws typical for the first release of an innovative product which can easily be fixed in the next relaese

- performance issues which are related to the inherent constraints of a mobile device and which cannot easily be corrected as they depend on the state of device technology or involve a very high cost to solve

The latter represents what I call the mobility paradigm: the structural trade-off between performance and speed on one hand and specifications (resolution, video playback, complexity of information to be handled) on the other hand, having both at the same time either only being possible at a very high cost or not possible at all. An example of this can be seen in the average quality of the image viewer as mentioned in 8.1: compromise was made between image quality and the time needed to open an image.

Nevertheless, the 770 has set the scene : full mobile computing in the palm of your hand has become a reality. One can hardly foresee what this will mean for the IT industry and the social consequences this will entail (about this blog). And what’s making me very excited : we only just have seen the very beginning.

One warning however: although the successors or future competitors of the 770 certainly will feature more internal memory, higher speed processors,better batteries, more efficient software , …there will always remain a structural difference in performance between a mobile and a desktop device (which will also gain in memory, speed,…) as mobility constraints will never go away. But this is exactly what mobility (and this blog) is all about : looking for the perfect balance between mobile and fixed computing, looking for complementarity, rather than replacing one by the other.

In this respect the Nokia 770 should be seen as a clever terminal accessing and taking full advantage of the high capacity and high performance of fixed computing resources, either connecting via WLAN to a home desktop or accessing web-applications on the internet. This reduces the workload of the Nokia 770 to sending/receiving input/output information and displaying it on the screen, leaving all the CPU and memory intensive processing for the remote server. A lot of the developer efforts should hence be focused on this instead of porting desktop like applications (which is tempting as many linux desktop applications can relatively easily be ported to maemo). And more importantly, this approach provides a way out of the mobility paradigm : reserve the limited CPU/memory resources mainly for high performance connectivity and viewing tasks making it possible to keep the hardware costs low instead of trying to overload the mobile device with huge amounts of local processing (and hence designing expensive hardware).

An example to illustrate the point above is assisted GPS (A-GPS): the task of a local A-GPS receiver is reduced to capture satellite info,send it to a remote server for processing (determine location , add location based information,…) and receive the relevant infomation, allowing high speed localisation without the need for a sophisticated high performance local GPS receiver/processor.

This has not been well understood by Microsoft, as they keep trying to integrate/copy all desktop functionality in a windows mobile device, resulting in a combination of high cost and low performance. The mobility paradigm has been understood much better by Symbian as they have designed their mobile operating system and platform from scratch taking into account mobility with its issues and constraints and implementing e.g. a very efficient memory management system.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, the end user needs to be educated that he can’t just copy the way he’s working on his desktop or laptop to a mobile device like the Nokia 770. Carelessly leaving 10 windows or applications open may be typical in a windows environment as resources are plentiful anyway (although even this is changing), but in a mobile device there are simply not enough resources to support such a wasteful and careless attitude. This is perfectly described in Is the Nokia 770 underpowered?.

The above list is neither complete (and probably never will) nor 100% accurate. See Nokia 770 improvements for regular updates.

Below you find a first list of hints and tips for the Nokia 770. Based on my own experience and picked up on a wide range of 770 sites, blogs,forums,… Good to have them all listed in one place I think. Some may be trivial,but could still be very useful for new users in order to get the most out of their 770.Will be updated regularly.For an updated list see Nokia 770 hints & tips.

Here comes the first series:

1. Web browser: optimised view mode

The browser of 770 comes with a number of features to facilitate the viewing of websites on a 800 pixels wide screen. Challenge is to read text in a sufficiently large font and not to have to browse horizontally. An issue I had is that often text columns on websites have too small a font to be read in 100 % zoom mode, but do no longer fit the screen width when moving to 150 % zoom mode (the next available zoom level). It would be useful to have an intermediate 120 % or 130 % zoom mode. But even then you would have to scroll horizontally to get the text column centered on the screen. Fortunately there is another solution: optimised view mode (Menu > View > Optimised view),similar to the ‘fit width’ function in the PDF reader. When in this mode, text columns are automatically adapted to fit the screen width regardless of the zooming level!
So, select optimised view, zoom in as much as you want for optimal reading and then scroll up/down with the joystick to read the text : perfect experience.
Some screenshots of Maemo.org website to illustrate the points above:

Text too small to read with 100% zoom:

At 150% zoom level, text column no longer fits screen width:

With Optimised view at 150 % zoom level:

With Optimised view at 200 % zoom level:

This should provide an answer to the critics that although the 770 screen has a very good resolution, the fonts are too small to read.

Another very interesting feature is that you can move the displayed section of a web page by simply moving the stylus over the screen. Very useful for complex sites with lots of graphis, where optimised view mode is not preferable/possible.

2. Scrolling: joystick or stylus?

A number of methods exist to scroll, but may vary depending on the application:
- joystick
- move stylus over screen
- use stylus to move scrollbars
All these methods allow vertical and horizontal scrolling.

METHOD1 JOYSTICK

When reading text, I found it most comfortably to use the joystick, in stead of the stylus (allows for one handed use or comfortably holding of the 770 with both hands):
- news reader
- pdf reader: up/down to scroll page, left right to go to next/previous page (only when in ‘fit width’ mode, otherwise scrolls horizontally on same page!)
- plucker reader
- web browser (see item 1)

Joystick can also be used to select items e.g. newsreader: scroll vertically and select items in left column, then switch to right column and scroll up an down to read the news items…

However, in browsing mode the up/down keys take you to the previous/next link.. so you still need the stylus!

METHOD2 STYLUS OVER SCREEN

Use the stylus to move over the sceen to scroll both vertically and horizontally (not in “fit width” viewing mode of web-browser and PDF reader). This is especially useful for complex, graphical, 2-dimensional layouts where ‘fit width’ does not allow easy viewing. Be careful not to position the stylus on a link!

This is the method to use to browse when not in optimised view mode, or to use PDF reader in zoom mode. Sadly, PDF reader does seem to struggle and fails to cope with even basic PDF files, so scrolling may be very frustrating (long refresh delays).

3. Use of hardware keys in full screen mode

After initially sticking with the stylus, I have now discovered the power of the hardware keys.
One important use of the hardware keys is when in full screen mode preventing you from having to switch back and forth between full and non-full screen mode to access the following functions:
- application menu
- home key (switch to new application)
- zoom in/out
- back key

Remark: toolbar can be switched on or off in full screen mode in web-browser,…

4. File manager: get access to all the files on your Nokia 770

The built-in “File Manager” applivation only shows files in your /home/user/MyDocs directory, your RS-MMC card and on bluetooth paired devices (including linux based desktop see post ). However, there are several workarounds.

For simple viewing/browsing all files, just open the web browser and set the url to be /usr/ or similar. Then navigate around as much as you like.

However, the full capabilities of the built-in file manager can be used by creating a symbolic link:
open X Terminal Emulator and create a link into MyDocs directory by typing the following code:
cd ~/MyDocs
ln -s / Root
The Root now appears in the File manager.You can choose any name instead of Root or make symbolic links to other directories.

Finally one can also use MidnightCommander via X Terminal (see Maemo.org for downloads).

It’s interesting you can find the Nokia logos (and replace them or use them elsewhere, this is not possible on Symbian smartphones!) :
- big Nokia logo you see on startup (/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/hildon/qgn_indi_startup_nokia_logo.png)
- Nokia hands (/usr/share/icons/hicolor/scalable/hildon/qgn_indi_nokia_hands.png)
- Nokia tunes (/usr/share/sounds)

So, there is no need for additional software to browse all files (as is e.g the case for Symbian smartphones).

Nokia 770 shipped with Internet tablet 2005 software edition Version: 1.2005.42-9. (Version number of the current software on your Nokia 770 Internet Tablet can be checked on Control panel > Device > About product)

New software update 2.2005.45-7 became available on November 24, 2005. Nokia website mentions: “this update includes small feature enhancements and corrections which provide improved performance”. It would be nice to have some more detailed information about the enhancements of this new release…

Description of software upgrade process:
1. Make backup of 770 internal memory (e-mail,contacts,documents, media files, bookmarks, settings) on memory card!!
Control panel > Backup/Restore > Backup > data delection : all data
2. Find your tablet’s product ID (12 characters) on the tablet’s packaging or on the label underneath the tablet’s battery
3. Connect Nokia Connectivity Cable DKE-2 (USB) from your Internet Tablet to your compatible PC
4. Go to Nokia 770 Internet tablet support section
5. Enter your tablet’s product ID , click submit and follow instructions:
- download Nokia_770_software_update_wizard1.exe to your computer
- open the file and follow the instructions on the screen to install the wizard
- after the wizard is installed, download Nokia_770_Software_Update.exe. Save it to the same folder as the wizard
- open the Nokia 770 software update wizard on your compatible PC
- follow the instructions on the screen to update the software to your Internet Tablet.
Instructions are somewhat confusing/conflicting: the Nokia 770 Software Update Guide mentions to open the Nokia_770_Software_Update.exe file before starting the software_update_wizard
Actual software upgrade takes about 3 mins.
6. Device reboots automatically, enter language, date, time and device name
7. Disconnect usb-cable
8. Restore data

Software-update is straightforward and fast.
First impression is that 770 does respond more quickly, but this needs to be confirmed.

Looking back at my previous posts Nokia 770 and connectivity and Nokia 770 Top 10, I thinks it’s interesting to further reflect on the relation between the Nokia 770 and the Symbian smartphone (Nokia 6681 in my case) and how their use cases complement each other. And more specifically : which device will be used for which task, now and in the future.

I have to admit that since I received the Nokia 770, the balance between the use of the 770 and the 6681 has heavily shifted towards the 770, especially at home. The main reason for this is of course the wifi access enabling web browsing,radio steaming,webmail, web-PIM, web-SMS, desktop file browsing,…At home, the 6681 is still really only used for music, some specific applications (dictionaries, password manager, ..),taking pictures(!),….calling (when I’m not in front of my desktop using Skype). Away from home, the 6681 remains the default device, mainly for consulting off-line, cached,synchronised content (Mobipocket news), SMS,taking notes,… although I do take my Nokia 770 with me to places where I know there will be wifi coverage (I get 3 hours of free hotspot usage per month with my fixed broadband internet connection).

However, I expect the balance will (partially) shift back to Symbian smartphones as wifi enabled phones become the standard (nearly all version 3 series 60 devices being launched in 1Q 2006: 3 E-series devices and 3 N-series devices, see images at the bottom).

These phones will on their turn enable radio streaming, web-SMS, web-PIM,… tasks perfectly possible to execute on a phone. Only remaining handicaps are extensive text input (though wireless keyboard can be used) and the small screen. In fact, all tasks which do not require a large screen and large amounts of text input are better done on a phone due to its mobility factor: anything audio, small notes,todo, web-SMS,…VOIP,…limited web-browsing (with new advanced Opera web browser…), reading small documents,.. .

Tasks for which the Nokia 770 always will remain the prefered option:

- any extensive web-browsing
- any more elaborate text input
- picture/video viewing
- document reading
- map viewing (GPS)
- … anything requiring either big display or large text input

However, next to the arguments described above, there will be other factors influencing the use of the respective devices:

- quality/amount of software available on both platforms (Symbian currently in the lead but huge potential to port linux software to 770)
- hardware/processor performance
- price ( when I compare the price of a Nokia 770 with the non-subsidised price of the latest Symbian smartphones - 700 euro for N70, up to 800 euro for N90 - I imagine some people will settle for a cheaper ,non-smartphone device, combined with the Nokia 770)

Finally, at some point in the future, when ubiquitous and affordable wifi/wimax coverage is available making VOIP the default calling option, the Nokia 770 will no longer need its companion (smart)phone and go it alone.

After more than 2 weeks of use, I listed below the top 10 use cases/applications/categories of my Nokia 770, with some screenshots, and a brief description/evaluation.

1. WEB BROWSING

Clear winner. Browsing is the very purpose of the 770. Complicated sites might block the device (rare)

2. NEWS READER

770 is perfect to catch up with news.
Not very sophisticated,items don’t always disappear immediately after having been read.

3. WEB-MAIL (Horde)

Perfect for viewing on 770.
I don’t use built-in POP/IMAP email reader in order to avoid constant synchronising between 770, phone, desktop.

4. INTERNET RADIO

Nokia 770 makes radio streaming ubiquitous as it is no longer linked to desktop / fixed location. Works flawlessly.

5. WEB-PIM (Horde Contacts, Todo, Notes, Calendar)

Same argument as for webmail. Prefered over GPE PIM suite (todo, contacts, calendar)

6. WEB-SMS (Clickatell)

Easy and cheap. See post

7. DOCUMENT READER (PDF reader, Plucker ebook reader, FBReader)

Big screen is perfect to read documents anywhere. PDF reader frequently freezes for file sizes of more than 100 kbyte. Obvious lack of internal memory.

8. IMAGE VIEWER

Interesting application is viewing maps, awaiting full GPS functionality. Also (remotely) viewing pictures taken on phone.Rendering of high resolution images flawed.See post.

9. SYSTEM,CONNECTIVITY & ADMINISTRATION UTILITIES (File Manager, Control panel, Connection manager, X Terminal, Bluetooth send & receive, screenshots)

Obvious use to organise, personalise, configure Nokia 770.

10. BROWSE FILES ON DESKTOP (locally and remotely)

Makes the Nokia 770 an extension of the desktop which functions as a repository for the multimedia library, documents,…. which can be on-line consulted on the Nokia 770, alleviating the need to constantly move around files between devices. Mostly used locally with sobexsrv utility (see post) but also possible remotely (free Avvenu utility)

Looking at the top 10 we see:

- 4 pure web-based use cases (browsing, webmail, web PIM, web SMS, remote access)
- 2 web-based use cases with local client (news, internet radio)
- 2 off-line viewer clients (image viewer, document reader)
- 2 connectivity utilities

I believe the above mix is characteristic for the typical use of the Nokia 770: very high focus on web-based,combined with local viewing applications and connectivity utilities (see post).

Not making it in the top 10:

MUSIC PLAYER (Audio player, ogg vorbis player)

Phone is prefered device to listen to music. Nokia 770 plays however a supporting role in remotely downloading music from desktop onto phone)

VIDEO PLAYER

Use case:
- view ripped & converted DVDs but not on a regular basis
- view video clips recorded with phone but due to low quality mostly viewed on phone itself

Ability to watch television will make video player more important.

CALCULATOR

Very nice interface, very easy to use. Plenty of alternatives however: phone, computer, standalone.

ABIWORD

Impressive word processor, very easy to use in combination with wireless keyboard.

NOTES

Prefer web-based. Potential use when off-line (but then again smartphone may be prefered, available option)

PIM-SUITE (GPE contacts, calendar, todo)

Same argument as above.

SKETCH

Looks interesting, but haven’t found use cases.

GAMES

No personal interest, altough nice to show off the 770 screen quality.

CLOCK

Never used, as no alarm function (anyway phone is preferred option).

What’s missing?

- Podcast client
- Watch TV
- Spreadsheet
- Viewer for Microsoft Office suite (Poserpoint, Excel) cf. QuickOffice.
- Mobipocket reader
- Sophisticated file manager, enabling to view all files on the system (already possible via browser)
- Free dictionaries
- Map viewing utility including free maps
- More sophisticated image viewer/editor

I have been checking out connectivity modes for the Nokia 770 over the past week. It was a fascinating but rather cumbersome experience. Before going into more detail, the conclusion certainly is that a lot - if not everything, - is possible as far as connecting the 770 to other devices is concerned,especially within a linux environment.However, a lot of the nice stuff is only available through ‘linux’ type manipulations (command line Xterminal mode, in many cases requiring ‘root’ access which can only be obtained through flashing new firmware), probably beyond reach for the average consumer - considering the cryptic state of the current user documentation. A big challenge will be the development of applications which wrap-up/hide the functionality in user-friendly GUIs (like the use of applets to start services, bluetooth configurations).

The following diagrams helped me structure my thoughts.

The first diagram shows the different connectivity possibilities between desktop, phone and Nokia 770, categorised into 4 types:
- send a file to another device
- browse / access a file on another device
- remote control of another device
- shared access of the connection of another device

The diagram below shows how the different devices are connected to the outside world (only showing ‘native’ connectivity modes):

MAJOR OBSERVATIONS

There are 4 native connectivity modes:

- wifi access to private or public wireless lan access point for internet connection
- bluetooth access to phone for file browsing
- bluetooth access to phone for cellular internet connection
- USB access to desktop for file browsing access to memory card

There are 2 secondary connectivity modes to connect accessories,involving the installation of special drivers:
- bluetooth wireless keyboard
- bluetooth wireless headset (to be analysed)

As far as the other, more ‘exotic’ connectivity modes are concerned, the following observations can be made:

1. By default, the Nokia 770 is not ‘discoverable’ and ‘connectable’ via bluetooth (other bluetooth devices cannot initiate connection and send files via BT)

Although these modes cannot be activated via the default 770 GUI, there is a workaround via Xterminal to enable both scan modes issuing a simple HCI command: ‘hciconfig hci0 piscan’.

Installation procedure

- (install) and launch X terminal
- /usr/sbin/hciconfig hci0 piscan (requires root access!)

2. It is not possible, by default, to send (and receive) files from the Nokia 770 to other bluetooth enabled devices.

In fact the only mode in which bluetooth is used is to connect to a bluetooth phone in order to connect to internet or to browse the files on that phone. Here, he workaround comes in the form of a add-on application ‘bluetooth xfer’.

In order to receive files see 1.
Installation procedure
- download bluetooth xfer (username:guest, password:guest)
- install on 770 via Application installer
- launch, search for remote bluetooth device, choose file and send:

3. Bluetooth file browsing access to a desktop PC is only available for linux (obexserver)

Installation procedure on linux desktop/laptop:
- download sobexsrv (desktop version)
- install sobexsrv root@ubuntu:~# dpkg -i /root/Desktop/sobexsrv_0.9.0-1_i386.deb
- open Xterminal
$ sudo hciconfig hci0 piscan
$ sdpd
$ /usr/bin/sobexsrv -Ir /tmp
- add/change new phone in connection manager (use 1234 as pairing code, message ‘only to be used for file transfer’)
- browse files in file manager under ubuntu-0:

This allows to just drop files on 770 into the right directory on your desktop, which is easier than to send files via BT and then put them into the right place on your desktop.

Web-based solutions (Avvenu, Orb) exist to remotely browse the files on your (windows) desktop.

4. Browse internal files on Nokia 770 from linux desktop

- download sobexsrv (770 version)
- install on 770 via Application installer

5. No wifi/wlan connectivity possible beween 770 and computer in order to mutually browse each others files (solution should be simple , especially for linux desktop)

This is very desirable as wifi is much faster than bluetooth opening perspectives to access/stream media files.

6. Remote control type access

Some early efforts have been communicated, mainly aiming at using the Nokia 770 in terminal mode using the performance/computing power of remote servers (e.g. to use open office applications).

Conclusion:

Nokia 770 comes with limited but very useful native connectivity possibilities. Already, a lot of third party applications are available to extend this connectivity, however requiring considerable ‘technical’ configuration efforts. In any case there is still a huge opportunity to develop advanced connectivity applications for the 770:

- local WIFI based access to files on linux AND windows desktop
- watching TV via WIFI access to desktop-based satellite/terrestrial TV receiver
- stream audio/video to 770 from other devices (currently not working)
- remote control of desktop (windows and linux)
- ….

A lot has been written about the small size and the portability of the Nokia 770. So, how should it be carried around then? It does indeed fit into a coat pocket. However, as the Nokia 770 will be mainly used inside the house - awaiting better outdoor WIFI-coverage or cheaper cellular access - the following solution may be considered:

A soft nylon case from Logic3 (meant for some kind of gaming device) in which the 770 fits comfortably.

The case can easily be unzipped in order to take the 770 out . It also features a small compartment with zip at the front ideal to store memory cards.

It can be attached to a belt either through a clip system or by inserting the belt through the rubber structure on the back of the case.

Although undoubtedly the accessories designers will come up with luxurious leather cases, this one comes cheap at about 10 euros.

It is possible, and what’s more: it’s very cheap! Ever heard about Clickatell? You could call them the Skype of the SMS. They provide SMS messages at wholesale/bulk prices at a fraction of the price your local GSM operator is charging you. However, the offer is absolutely open for consumers.

Price per SMS can be as low as 3.5 cent, depending on the country/operator. This is low compared to the price of a national SMS which can be anything between 10 and 20 cent, and very low compared to the price of an international or roaming SMS which may well be 50 cent and more.

Register, set up an account, load some cash (you also get some free credits) and start using your Nokia 770 to send SMS. No subscription fees, no usage obligation (there is however a volume discount for very high users).

An easy to use web-interface comes with it.

I have been using Clickatell from my desktop for quite a while. It does happen quite often I want to send an SMS while sitting in front of my desktop. Clickatell allowed me to send an SMS not only at the fraction of the normal price but also in a much more userfriendly way (I hate text input on a cell phone, even for short SMS messages). But now, I realise that the Nokia 770 makes this an even more compelling proposition, allowing me to send SMS anywhere at home , liberating me from my desktop. And even when away from home one can send SMS through Clickatell, either while within WIFI coverage - fully benefitting from the lower price - or connecting to the web via your cell phone GPRS/3G connection - costs benefit depending on your data tarif plan, the high costs of which may well cancel out the Clickatell SMS price differential.

This is only one example of how unsettling the Nokia 770 may proof to become for the operator community having been cashing in for years on huge margins from SMS, undisturbed by any competition or market pressure.